News & Events

Please join us in celebrating an outstanding educator! 

We’re proud to announce that Mick Morgan, 4th grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has been named a finalist for the Simplot Inspirational Teacher of the Year!

This year, the Simplot Education Council received an incredible 2,617 nominations recognizing 402 exceptional teachers across Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25. Finalists will be spotlighted daily through Thursday, May 15, 2025.

On Friday, May 16, 2025, three Simplot Inspirational Teacher Awards will be announced—honoring one exceptional teacher each from the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each category features five finalists, all of whom will receive a $100 award, with the top recipient in each group earning a $500 prize from the Council.

Congratulations to Mr. Morgan on this well-deserved recognition!

Mr. Morgan is one of the most impactful people in my life. He helped me believe in myself and feel like I could do anything if I worked hard enough. "His teaching style was one I will never forget; he was very inspiring. Today I am a straight A student and I owe all of it to him. He had a mantra; ‘I am responsible for everything I think, say, do and feel and today I will strive for excellence.’ To this day I still say this every morning. Thank you, Mr. Morgan, for everything you have taught me.” Kyrie W.

“I am nominating Mr. Morgan because he has inspired me in so many ways. Not only in learning but also in art. He always encouraged me to keep learning and drawing without giving up. In class he kept us motivated and inspired by showing us meaningful quotes, videos and reading books. He taught us how to stay disciplined and do our absolute best in everything.  He has made a huge impact on my life and taught me so many skills and strategies that I will always remember. Every time I get an artist block and feel like giving up, I just think about his encouraging words.”. Jassper T.

Join us in celebrating an outstanding educator!

We’re proud to announce that Sheena Phelps, 5th grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, has been named a finalist for the Simplot Inspirational Teacher of the Year!

This year, the Simplot Education Council received an incredible 2,617 nominations recognizing 402 exceptional teachers across Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25. Finalists will be spotlighted daily through Thursday, May 15, 2025.

On Friday, May 16, 2025, three Simplot Inspirational Teacher Awards will be announced—honoring one exceptional teacher each from the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each category features five finalists, all of whom will receive a $100 award, with the top recipient in each group earning a $500 prize from the Council.

Congratulations to Ms. Phelps on this well-deserved recognition! 

“I will never forget my 5th grade year. I had just moved from a city which had been so kind to me and it was a heartbreak. My first day I was terrified, I had no friends and I was afraid it would stay that way. I knew the only thing I could do was just try my best to be the best student. Mss. Phelps introduced me to come of the other girls and my anxiety faded.  I vividly remember in the second week of school she pulled me aside and checked on me and how I was doing and she told me she was proud of me. Now I am almost in 7th grade and I can look back and remember almost every lesson, every conversation, she is truly an unforgettable teacher.” Violet A. 

The teacher I will never forget is Ms. Phelps. She helped me through all of 5th grade, the toughest grade for me but she stuck with me through the thick and thin. Ms. Phelps was the best teacher I’ve ever had. I finished the year strong thanks to her encouragement, helpfulness and support. Xavier M.
 

Please join us in congratulating Simplot Inspirational Teacher of the Year finalist, Katie Balls. Ms. Balls teaches 1st grade at Jefferson Elementary School.

This year, the Simplot Education Council received 2,377 nominations for 398 teachers in Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25. Finalists will be featured daily through Thursday, May 9, 2024. Three Simplot Inspirational Teacher Awards will be announced on Friday, May 10, 2024 – one for a teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In addition, 5 finalists have been selected for each category and each will be awarded a $100 check. The Simplot Inspirational Teacher Award Recipients of 2024 will each be presented a $500 check on behalf of the Council.

“I recommend Katie Ball as the Inspirational Teacher for 2024. She is a 1st-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary and has taught for 19 years. She is the epitome of a kind, caring and dedicated educator. Her students love her. I have often been with her when current and past students see her in a store or restaurant. It is like a rock star has arrived. There are gasps, excited tugging of parent's clothing, and then they run for a big hug! Students of all ages rush to see her and talk with her. Even students who have not been in her classroom, but have interacted with her at Jefferson, rush to speak with her. I have also taught her students in high school, and they speak of her with love and fondness.

One reason she is so loved is that her classroom environment focuses on kindness, inclusivity, and expectation. Simply, she shows them how to be good learners and citizens. The students in her classroom care about her and each other. They work hard to learn, and they celebrate the success of their classmates. It is so inspiring!

Additionally, her students are successful in developing important foundational skills of learning. Her students leave her classroom loving school and prepared to succeed in future grades. They are so successful because of her engaging lesson plans. Every year her classroom is turned into a bat cave as the culmination of their science unit on bats, in which they have learned many facts about bats and written about them as well. Ms. Ball supplies the necessary materials from her personal funds and spends time after hours to set up the learning activity. This is just one of many examples of her engaging teaching methods. I also know she is constantly learning and growing as an educator. She often explores instructional methods and implements new research-based strategies to help her students learn and succeed. She is a master at best practices in her classroom.

For 19 years Ms. Ball has put her students first, going the extra mile, buying extra supplies, creating engaging lesson plans, and doing all she can to love and nurture her precious "littles." She is extremely deserving of this recognition. Thank you for taking the time to consider her, and thank you for recognizing educators and supporting education in such a positive way. I appreciate the time you spend on this endeavor. As an educator, it means a lot to be noticed for your efforts and to feel the support of our community.” Fellow Educator, Heidi Luker

Please join us in congratulating Simplot Inspirational Teacher of the Year finalist, Mick Morgan. Mr. Morgan teaches 4^th grade at Jefferson Elementary School.

This year, the Simplot Education Council received 2,377 nominations for 398 teachers in Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25. Finalists will be featured daily through Thursday, May 9, 2024. Three Simplot Inspirational Teacher Awards will be announced on Friday, May 10, 2024 – one for a teacher at the elementary, middle and high school levels. In addition, 5 finalists have been selected for each category and each will be awarded a $100 check. The Simplot Inspirational Teacher Award Recipients of 2024 will each be presented a $500 check on behalf of the Council.

“Mr. Morgan has been my biggest inspiration since I had his class in fourth grade. Something that really stuck out to me was the quote of the week. I may have thought it was useless back then, but now that I am older those quotes have stuck with me and have really helped in in my life. I also had Mr. Morgan during COVID which was a really hard time for a fourth grader but Mr. Morgan made my whole class know that we were loved and made sure we had all the supplies to finish off our school year at home.” Ella J.

“I am nominating Mr. Morgan because he was the most inspiring teacher I had through my life.  Every day, he encouraged us to keep going. He always told me to do what I loved and helped me to improve in what I was doing. Anytime I wanted to give up, he would inspire me to keep going, he gave us that motivation.” Maddie C.

“I would like to nominate Mr. Morgan. When I first entered 4^th grade I thought it was going to be an easy year, but it was really hard.  When my work was hard I would start to get really frustrated but Mr. Morgan would come up to me and ask how I was doing. I would say something like I need help or this is really hard, so one day he told the whole class, ‘there might be a lot of hardships in life but you have to keep trying and pushing’. “ Kamdon J. 

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